


Heralding Nothing

by Archimedes_the_Arrogant



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, I know how to do tags, Light Angst, No Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archimedes_the_Arrogant/pseuds/Archimedes_the_Arrogant
Summary: A rewrite of the original four RWBY trailers. Originally a part of a longer story, but now stand-alone pieces.
Kudos: 1





	1. No Malice

**Author's Note:**

> A long time ago, I started a RWBY fic in which I basically intended to rewrite the entire show.
> 
> Needless to say, I never actually finished that, and honestly I've long since lost any interest in RWBY. Haven't seen the recent seasons, don't plan to. Have no idea what's going on with the community these days, heard Rooster Teeth has been doing some dumb shit, but don't know much about it. 
> 
> However, among other things, I did manage to finish the trailers, and it recently occurred to me that I could prolly just post 'em and they'd work fine on their own. So I edited them up, and here we are!
> 
> Honestly its been so long since I watched RWBY that I just have to trust that my past self knew what was going on, because I certainly don't remember.

A chill wind blew on the island of Patch, whipping up flurries of snow as it danced over high cliffs and snow-covered trees. It flew past cabins and mountains and rivers, it flew past a high grave, and on its way it touched a figure in red, tugging at her long cloak.

Though her clothing was thick and warm, she couldn't help shivering a bit as it tore past. She pretended that the wind was the cause of the aching in her chest, because that was easier.

Before her was a stone engraved with a rose, and the phrase:

_Thus kindly I scatter._

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the chill air in her lungs. Better that than the ache.

Her reflective eyes opened and she pulled her hood down, letting the wind sting her bare face. Her face was fixed in a small smile, as if the one she smiled for might appreciate it.

"Hey Mom," she started simply, the cheer in her voice only partially forced. "Yang's going to Beacon soon. Leaving me soon…"

Her expression turned downcast for just a moment, but she quickly corrected it.

"But that's fine! She's taken care of me for so long, she deserves to go do what she wants. I'll be fine. I have Dad and my friends at Signal."

She didn't add that said friends were really more acquaintances. Who only even knew her name because she was the daughter of a teacher.

The wind blew, far below in the greener valleys of Patch, and when she looked down upon them, her smile became a bit more real, a bit more fond. The green woods and magnificent cliffs, the small cabins and small community, this was her home. She was in no rush to leave it.

Right?

Her back straightened when she remembered whose company she was in.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Yang needs to go do things on her own without her little sister dragging her down."

She turned back to the stone with a bright smile.

"After all, I have you too, right Mom?"

The whistling wind was her only answer.

"Right," she quietly said.

She dropped down to hug the stone, and it was cold and hard against her.

"See you soon."

She stood and pulled her hood back over her head, glancing back only once before walking into the dark forest of clattering bare branches.

Here, among the black trees, her footsteps were completely muffled by the snow, and her soft breaths let out puffs of mist. The only sound was the clattering and scraping of the branches in the chill wind.

At least, it was the only sound until the girl started humming a cheerful tune, seeming entirely obvious to the atmosphere. She went so far as to start skipping like a child. Her red-clad form and cheerful sound echoed in the dark and clattering forest.

It was almost as if the trees whispered about her presence, and resented it.

And so, the forest started howling.

Long, ragged howls that were of no animal. They were not warnings, or communication, or expressions of joy. They were simpler than that, more bestial than any beast, pure furious outpourings of hatred for light and life.

If the girl could be described as cheerful before, she now seemed almost ecstatic. She stopped humming and cupped a hand over her ear, trying to locate the sounds. Once she pinpointed a direction, she grinned and disappeared, leaving behind a trail of swirling rose petals leading directly towards the sound.

The small splashes of color were seized by the wind once the momentum of their creation had faded, quickly taken away and buried under the snow, leaving no trace of the girl's presence behind.

A joyous smile graced the girl's expression as the howls grew louder and louder, piercing into the mind like nails and trying to drag out all the primal fear that lurked within all human and faunus kind.

Unfortunately for them, the girl almost completely lacked that fear.

No, it wasn't the howls that started to corrupt her smile. It was the quieter growls and yips, sounds only made when the creatures had a target.

And her joy was torn from her entirely when a shrill scream rang out in the forest, a uniquely fearful and sentient sound.

She pushed herself further, the whispering trees whipping past almost before she could see them, the chill wind tearing at her face. Faster, faster. 

* * *

Not far away, an even younger girl, no older than ten, clung desperately to one of the clattering branches of the forest. She was holding as best she could, but her strength was draining through a long cut in her arm, pumping blood at a dangerous rate. Her wide eyes stared down in horror at the five massive, shadowy wolves that circled the tree, howling and growling.

They were in no hurry, they knew she was soon to fall, and were reveling in the fear emanating from the girl.

The child tried not to pass out, already having been pushed far past her limits. The cold wind tore through the thin coat she was wearing, though her constant shuddering had more to do with the five nightmares circling her. Their huge, muscular forms could easily kill her with a single swing, and it was only luck that allowed her to dodge the first swing enough to only wound her arm.

But, much worse than the terrifyingly strong arms and strange, hunched posture of the monsters were their eyes. Glowing a deep crimson, their hateful, joyful eyes were the only color in the forest, and she couldn't help but stare into them. To see their fury and the sadistic amusement they were taking in her frustrated tears.

She was going to die. And they would revel in it.

Or, at least, that's what she thought.

Without warning, the five nightmares fell silent and turned as one, staring with baleful eyes towards the east. The girl looked up as well, hoping through blurred vision.

Not a moment later, color arrived. Petals swirled and danced in the air around a hooded, red-clad figure, one that stared right back at the nightmares without fear. For just a moment, the girl caught a glimpse of silver eyes looking up at her.

The wolves howled in rage and charged at the figure, mindlessly charging the more easily accessible target. Nothing would deter them now, not even the massive, mechanical scythe that seemed to appear from thin air in the figure's hand.

The same could not be said of the girl, and she whimpered at the sight of the curved blade, a weapon intended for one purpose. Killing.

The figure didn't bother taking a stance until the first nightmare lunged. Red-stained teeth shone in the dark as red petals danced, and then the scythe fell.

The momentum of the massive creature was stopped in an instant as death buried itself in its skull. The figure smiled.

Lightning flashed, thunder rang. The shoulder of another wolf exploded, and the power of the shot pulled the scythe out of the ground and the first nightmare's skull.

The creature howled in pain and rage, piercing into the small girl's mind. She screwed her eyes shut and tried to block out the sounds.

The remaining three nightmares spread out, the body of their former comrade hindering their angles of attack.

Not that they were given the chance to.

A second shot, this time angled behind the figure, and it rocketed forward in a flurry of petals before the spear-like haft of the scythe was buried in the chest of the nearest wolf, making it cry out its helpless rage in dying without the chance to kill.

The figure fired once more, throwing the dead wolf to the side and ripping the haft of the weapon out of the creature's chest.

One of the remaining wolves took this opportunity to leap at the figure, but again it disappeared in a flurry of petals before reappearing above the nightmare. Again the scythe fell, heralding death.

The figure twirled and spun its scythe, deflecting the desperate blow of the final uninjured wolf.

The nightmare stumbled forward, its massive jaw open to engulf the warrior. Its final, hateful howl was reduced to a pained gurgle when the scythe was buried inside the open maw.

The scythe was pulled back and was at the ready for the sure-to-come ambush of the creature that had been wounded in the beginning. But the ambush didn't come. The figure blinked in confusion, but then the silver eyes opened wide in panic and looked over at the tree the girl held on to.

The clattering branch the child held onto whispered to the forest, and the forest scraped and the wind whistled in amusement.

And then it snapped.

She fell hard, her leg bending unnaturally as it hit the ground, and she screamed and sobbed in pain. Blood soaked the ground.

The child's eyes opened to meet those of the final nightmare, its crimson eyes burning with the desire to take just one life before its own end. Its shattered shoulder dragged it down, but it raised the remaining arm to swat the child's life away in one hateful blow.

Rose petals drifted to the ground.

The curved blade of the cloaked figure fell, piercing through the neck of the monster and coming to rest just before the girl's tearful eyes. The creature fell heavily, the hatred gone from its empty eyes.

The child looked shakily upward to stare at the crimson reaper standing tall over her, splattered with the dark blood of the massive creatures that had seemed so invincible. The instrument of death was so very natural in its hands, and the silver eyes burned into the girl.

She tried to back away, whimpering, but she hadn't the strength. Blood kept draining from her arm, and the pain in her leg pierced through her body.

The scythe collapsed into a small box, which the figure tucked behind its back. It raised its arms and knelt beside the child.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," a kind, feminine voice came from within the hood.

A hand reached out to gently touch her injured leg, the girl trying to scream, but only managing to let out strangled sobs.

A red aura crackled to life around the figure, and when the pale hand brushed against the girl's leg, the aura flooded into her.

The child threw her head back and gasped as sensations flooded through her mind. Or perhaps, her soul.

_A dull ache, a long-healed wound that had been agitated, but would soon once more fade into the background. Images of a woman in a white cloak, a gentle voice, the sweet taste of chocolate._

_Eagerness, excitement. Knowledge of her own skill and a need to show it, both to others and to the nightmares. No hatred towards the monsters, those soulless husks, for there was no hatred within. Simply a knowledge that they needed to die in order to protect._

_Love. Once tested, never lost. Melancholy blue eyes. Comfort._

_Love. Long, flowing blonde hair and violet eyes. Safety. A boisterous laugh and great strength._

_A desire, no, a need to help people, to defend those who could not defend themselves. A need just as vital as food or drink, stronger even than any sense of self-preservation or desire to stay upon Remnant._

_Love. All of humanity, all of faunuskind. People were good, and kind. They helped each other and lifted each other out of the darkness that threatened them. Life was precious, unique, beautiful. People deserved to live in peace, deserved to life without fear or death or pain._

_And she would protect them. All of them._

The young girl sat up straight, wondering at the sudden lack of pain. Looking down, her leg was straightened, and the cut in her arm was no more than a long, aching scar.

She turned to look up at the figure in red, who pulled her hood down to reveal an exhausted, youthful face with short red hair faded from black. It was a kind face, a happy one.

The usage of aura to heal the child's injuries obviously took a lot out of her, her shoulders were stooped and she had to steady herself against the tree, but the huntress obviously didn't regret it. Despite her fatigue, the red-cloaked huntress gave the child a bright smile. The child returned it, no longer fearful in the slightest.

She might have never known this red-cloaked girl before today, but now she knew the huntress as well as the closest of family, for she had seen her soul. There was no malice hidden within.

The child stood carefully, testing her leg and finding it functional.

She offered the huntress a hand.

"Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby nodded and took the hand gratefully.

It was time to go home.


	2. Silence and the Cold

A chill wind blew through the halls of the Schnee mansion, leaving silence in its wake.

It was not a wind that one could feel upon their skin, for all that it might raise prickles there. No, this was something much subtler, something of the soul.

This wind crept through the long, empty halls and the many rooms that had never seen use and never would, causing servants to hurry in carrying out their tasks and guards to stand straighter.

They knew this feeling, of course, and knew what it meant.

None of them wished to be subject to the ire of the master of the house.

Jacques Schnee sat in his office, on his high platform that allowed him to looked down on any who approached him. His cold and calculating countenance was focused upon the slight girl who was his daughter by blood, if nothing else.

He did not ask questions, did not consider the request she made of him.

He simply said, in his cold voice, “No.”

She took a deep breath, considering her words. She had to phrase this carefully to her father, as he was a man who did nothing unless he could see profit outweighing risk.

“Father, if I graduate from Beacon, I would then be known as a full-fledged huntress. That could have many benefits. It would dissuade assassins and it would earn the trust of many, as huntresses and huntsmen are beloved by almost all. It would be a powerful intimidation tool. Besides, it’s not as if I plan to actually go on hunts, and huntsmen and huntresses are some of the prime customers of dust. Saying I understand exactly what they go through and what they need could bring more business as well. Which is to say nothing about the political benefits of my going to Vale. Beacon is one of our biggest customers.”

She kept any want or desperation out of her voice, a skill she was very practiced in.

Her father looked down upon her, considering her words. He was no fool, he could see what his daughter was trying to do, and he knew she wanted to get away from him. However, he also knew that she was determined to lead the company some day. She was much more devoted to the studies of business and manipulation than her sister ever was. And perhaps this taste of the huntress life, of the hardships and trauma, might convince her that it was far better to be under him than to risk her life in foolish ventures.

And after all, if this didn’t pay off, he still had the youngest.

“Very well,” he said at last.

The girl very carefully suppressed any excitement or surprise, knowing that it could ruin everything.

“But,” he added, the single word making her heart sink, “first I will need proof that you will succeed in this venture. After all, a Schnee succeeds in all things.”

The girl nodded, nervous but still not losing the calm, composed exterior she knew had to be preserved.

“I will have a servant relay which room your test will take place in tomorrow morning. Be there with your weapon.”

She once again nodded politely before exiting the room.

* * *

The girl dressed in white stood before the cage that held her test. From within, there was no noise whatsoever, which was strange. Normally grimm, for that is what she assumed was within the crate, in captivity would bang and scrape against the sides of their enclosures with loud wails or roars. Oftentimes they would simply bash their own heads in against the walls.

But from the crate was nothing. It unnerved her far more than any roar ever could.

That dreadful silence lingered in the large, empty training room, clawing at her. From above, bright, colorless light shone, stinging her eyes.

It was always cold in the mansion, a slight chill that settled into the bones and made one weary of life. This, however, didn’t deter the girl in the slightest. In fact, she almost seemed to draw strength from the cold, breathing it in and letting it invigorate her.

It was an old friend.

High above, some servant of her father looked down through thick glass. She didn’t know the man, and didn’t care to. The chill of his emotionless observation was not the sort of cold she reveled in.

She readied herself, slipping into the stance she had been first taught by her sister, many years ago. The rapier that had belonged to her mother was raised in challenge to the silent crate, the vials of nature’s wrath ready to be used in combat.

She waited. For a long moment, there was nothing. Silence dripped from every surface in the room, oozing from every crack and crevice unpleasantly, only her own steady breathing to disturb it. She drew strength from the cold.

And then the advisor raised a hand, and the door opened.

It emerged from its cage with a slow and cautious gait, setting each long, slender foot down as if it were testing the ground.

The moment she saw it, the girl had to suppress a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. The thing walked on four long, thin legs that jerked unnaturally as it moved, as if it had to pop its joints out of their sockets with every step. It was about the size of a Beowolf, but much leaner, almost resembling a deer in its body, yet its head was more canine.

All this was expected of a grimm, grotesque proportions and massive size. But the face…

The ubiquitous, flaming red eyes of the grimm were nowhere to be found, not even sockets left where they should have been. Neither was there a nose, nor ears. There was only a grin.

Jagged teeth stretched far down the thing’s long, slender neck, and it smiled at her even as it started to circle, still cautious, still waiting.

And that was what disturbed her most about it. Not the strange twitching or the unnatural grin, no, what made her the most afraid was the fact that it didn’t attack.

Most grimm would have lunged mindlessly at her by now, thinking of nothing but their rage and hatred, and she would have cut them down or dodged. But this thing…

It was intelligent. Not sentient, no, but smart enough to wait, to stalk, to look for an opening. It could restrain itself.

When she looked at this thing and tried to understand it, it was doing the same to her.

It traced a wide circle around her, the horrid grin always pointed at her just as the point of her rapier was facing it. She didn’t recognize this thing, for all that she had studied grimm and their capabilities. In most circumstances, she would let it make the first move so she could assess it.

The silence was heavy, muting even her breath under the oppressive nothing. She could feel it dragging her down, and she almost stiffened her stance to counteract it. But she managed to stop herself from giving the thing an opening, keeping herself loose and mentally berating herself.

After all, it was just quiet, something she was long used to. There was no reason this silence should feel so… heavy.

It was as if all that existed in the world was herself, the vile grin of the creature, and the silence.

This grimm wasn’t going to attack unless she gave it an opening. She was going to have to make the first move, if only for the sake of her sanity.

She spun the revolving portion of her rapier, preparing a vial of fire dust. She grasped the rapier with both hands and pulled it back, ready to send a wave of fire at the creature. The grin seemed to grow in size as she did so, and the creature suddenly stopped moving, simply staring straight at the girl despite the lack of eyes and twitching eerily.

The girl sneered at it, but just as the blade of the rapier started glowing the red of the dust, a massive force crushed down upon her arm. Her aura negated any damage, but the pain made her shriek and drop her weapon, swiftly casting a glyph that pulled her away and jerked her arm out of the grip. The dropped rapier flung out a useless stream of flame, hitting nothing.

Clutching her arm and looking back, she could see that there was a second creature, the same as the first, if a bit smaller. The vile grin that had caused her to drop her weapon turned to her.

This second creature had waited in the crate for its comrade to distract the girl so that it could take advantage. Now, both prowled towards her in that same silence. The girl could feel the weight trying to bring her to her knees, but she refused.

She couldn’t afford to check her aura, but she could feel that it had taken a concerning blow from the bite, the creature’s jaws obviously monstrously strong. Her honestly somewhat small aura pool couldn’t take more blows like that, and while there was no damage, she was as unused to physical pain as she was to facing grimm.

The girl took a deep breath before casting a glyph that flung her rapier back towards her, past the smaller creature. She easily caught it and switched to yellow dust.

At the same time, the larger of the creatures leaped at her, the grin splitting all the way down the neck. There was no warning, no growl or preparation, it fought in the same silence it stalked in.

Grasping the hilt of her sword, she activated the dust and held her blade defensively.

The creature, instead of her head, bit down on her sword, and yellow electricity surged through its body. It immediately released the blade and raised its head in a soundless scream as its twitching redoubled.

She tried to press the advantage, but the smaller one chose that moment to attack, dipping beneath her rapier as she was focused on the larger one. It opened its mouth to bite down on her arm once more, but instead it smashed itself on a small white glyph.

This paused it only for a moment, but that was enough for the girl to plunge her rapier down into it. It silently screamed in the same manner as its companion, but it was hardly finished. It threw itself to the side, not allowing her time to remove the rapier from inside of it.

Not expecting this, she stumbled a bit, but managed to keep a firm grip on the rapier. The now-recovered larger creature took advantage of this, leaping towards her exposed side and opening its grotesque maw.

Desperately, the girl summoned yet another glyph, this one surrounding the thing’s neck like a collar, keeping it in place. She ripped the rapier out of the smaller creature, which it immediately took advantage of, biting down on her arm once more with all the force of the freakishly large jaw. Her white aura flashed, and she shrieked once more.

Her focus dropped enough that her glyph disappeared, and the larger creature’s leap continued. She just barely managed to duck under it, with her arm still stuck in the smaller’s mouth. Her aura was flashing continuously, draining at a dangerous rate.

Before the larger creature could turn around, she took the rapier in her off-hand and sunk it into the top of the smaller creature’s head. It collapsed, letting go of her arm.

Even in death, the thing made no noise, the vile grin still leering up at her.

She turned back to the remaining creature, keeping the rapier in her off-hand. She was ambidextrous, and the pain the other arm was in might impair its performance.

There was no time to formulate a plan, though, as she found that the thing was already upon her, the vile grin level with her eyes as it threw her to the floor. The two long claws on each foot pressed down, digging into her aura as the thing tried to bite into her face.

Luckily, she still kept a hold of her rapier, knowing that without it she was lost. With blue dust, she managed to wrap ice around the thing’s head and keep it from biting into her. It was still quite painful when it bashed its ice-covered head into her’s.

Dazed and running very low on aura, the girl tried to think of what to do. Her rapier was still in her hand, but the hand it was held in was pinned by one of the creature’s long legs. Another bash into her head with the ice-covered mouth of the thing interrupted her thoughts, and she gasped in pain once more.

And, with a crackling sound, her aura faded out completely. The claws of the creature dug into her arm, her shoulder, and her waist.

She screamed in pain, and, desperate to stop the thing before it cracked its head on hers again, she thumbed to the next kind of dust in her rapier and triggered it.

Gravity.

The creature, as well as she herself, went flying in the direction the rapier was pointed. The thing was thrown off of her in the process.

She groaned and tried to stand, using her rapier to support herself. Looking up, she saw the creature had already scrambled to its feet and was lunging at her, the now-free maw ready to bite into her throat.

She knew she couldn’t dodge it from this distance, so she did the only thing she could. She held up her blade and lunged forward, a scream tearing itself from her throat.

The rapier pierced into the throat of the creature, throwing the head back before it could bite into her. However, one of the long legs reached out and slashed into her face, opening a deep cut over her eye.

Both fell the ground, the girl looking into the creature’s vile grin, her limbs too heavy to consider removing her rapier from the body of it.

And as some of her father’s servants rushed into the room to take care of her, the silence was broken.

It was cold.

She couldn’t help but smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my old notes, “In context of the grimm, these things are weaker than Beowolves, and a bit faster. However, they’re pretty much made for ambushing. They’re quiet (read: literally can’t make noise), have a strong bite, and most of all, they’re intelligent. Much more so than most grimm their size.”   
>  I know I probably had an explanation for why they’re so smart at some point, as well as the weird silence thing they do, but I can’t remember it. So let’s just say Salem cooked up some intelligent new friends to act as spies, and now she’s rather pissed because the SDC caught them and used them as glorified arena beasts.


	3. Beasts and a Coward

A chill wind blew through the forest of Forever Fall, sending the endless sea of crimson dancing. The individual leaves blew in strange, swirling patterns for a way before inevitably falling once more to the ground, the wind depositing them once it was done playing with them. There were always more leaves.

That wind flew through the forest, past countless trunks and playing with countless leaves, until it reached a clearing. In the center was a rock, and upon the rock a lone girl in dark clothing. The wind played with her dark hair and tugged at her clothes, but she ignored it.

She was a single speck of black in the sea of crimson, an interruption in the grand courtship dance of the forest and the wind. She could feel how it flowed around her, without her.

The ears on the top of her head, reminiscent of a cat, flicked and twitched, catching the small sounds of rustling leaves and the small sounds of creatures trundling through the undergrowth. Though she could hear the sounds of action and life, she sat still, an observer.

As always.

She did not interact with it, but she considered the wind. How strange it was. So gentle, so everywhere. It seemed an innocent and beautiful thing, but she knew that if it so chose it could sweep away everything in this forest, tossing her as easily as she might cut down one of the lesser creatures of darkness that wandered about.

A dangerous thing, but inevitable. All one could decide is if they bent to it or resisted it or simply avoided it.

Eventually, another came into the clearing, a boy wearing black and crimson, crimson to match the trees that bend to the will of the wind.

"Blake," he said to the amber eyes that turned to regard him. "It's almost time."

She looked into the expressionless mask he wore for a moment, then said simply, "Okay."

She jumped off the rock, and it was easy to forget that the wind was even there when there was something else to focus on. It still was there, though, still dancing with the forest.

The two walked together through the crimson forest, a girl in black and white, a boy in black and crimson. They reached a downward slope, leading to tracks that wound through the Forever Fall and, eventually, out of it. Behind them the forest danced with the wind, throwing leaves down the slope and disregarding them.

There was a moment of silence before the boy turned to the girl. He removed his mask, something that he would only do in her presence, and his single blue eye met her own amber ones. She showed no disgust at what the mask hid.

He sighed, looking down for a moment as if to gather his words, before looking back into amber.

"I can tell something's going on, Blake. You're bothered about something. What is it?" his tone was even, calm, yet it carried a note of command that would send many rushing to do his bidding.

Normally, the girl would be the first to do so, used to following his orders and believing his words. But recently, she had begun to doubt him, doubt him in a way that terrified her, because she knew she owed him far too much to question him.

She took a breath and put up her own mask, one that was not physical. "We… I'll tell you after the mission, alright?"

He stared deep into her eyes, searching her soul in that terrifying way only he could, as if he knew everything there was to know about her and she could never hide. And yet, he simply nodded. There were no more words. They had said all they needed to, and neither was fond of unnecessary speech.

The boy in crimson and black replaced his mask, once more hiding his fiery blue eye and scarred face, replacing it with the red inkings of a nightmare.

As he looked out at the forest, the girl closed her eyes for a brief moment. She knew what she should do, what she should say. But she was too much of a coward to do it. So… she would do what she did best.

The triangular ears upon her head twitched, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked back, and she nodded. He returned the gesture, and she released him.

He grasped the hilt of his sword and stepped forward, towards the tracks along which a train would soon screech, bearing the fruit of oppression to be sold in Vale.

Unseen, beneath the mask, his eyes narrowed and any hint of compassion that might have been held within disappeared entirely. He had no empathy for the ones who had held his people down for so long, who had taken his eye, his parents, his pride, so many friends over the years…  
He had no empathy for humans.

And as the train roared through, he allowed himself a small smirk at the thought of those who had taken so much from him getting what they deserved.  
He held up a hand and gestured to the girl before leaping down and sliding down the slope, crimson leaves fluttering up and being carried off by the wind in his wake.

The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

And she jumped off behind him.

They quickly approached the end of the slope, and the metal train there, and when the time was right they kicked off. He thrust his blade into the train and screeched to a halt while the girl more gracefully rolled into position.

They traded glances before moving to the hatch leading downwards. The boy cut through the lock and dropped, the girl behind him. The lighting in the car was rather dim, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. However, they could both see just fine when the security robots lit up with their signature red glow and one announced, "Halt! Intruders, identify yourselves!"

He smirked, the girl simply rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the things.

Many of them fell before the bots could react. The sickle of the girl pierced through metal easily, borne on a long ribbon, and the boy fired his weapon from its sheath.

Then, the machines started firing, and the battle was begun.

The two moved in perfect synchronization, fluidly supporting each other with a subconscious familiarity of the other's fighting style, bred of far too much combat at each others' sides.

She moved with grace and agility, expertly picking out any weak point in a machine's stance or flaw in A.I. and ruthlessly exploiting it with a weapon that was as versatile as she herself was. Any machines that tried to strike her were easily avoided and soon found themselves punished for their foolishness.

He moved with easy skill and flourish, dispatching enemies with a straightforward style that was all the more effective for its simplicity. His weapon flashed out with blinding speed and brutal force, and any blow directed towards him was simply absorbed in his blade.

They did not take long to destroy all the machines, the guards' basic minds and lack of cooperation being completely unable to handle the duo's brutally efficient teamwork.

The last fell with a sickle protruding from its neck as the boy strolled forward to look inside the crate that held their objective. For the second time that day, he allowed himself a satisfied smirk.

"Perfect," he said without turning to the girl, who approached with a casual dismissal of the mechanical bodies littering the floor. "Now we set the charges."

Behind him, the girl stopped, looking up at his back with wide eyes.

"What about the crew members?" she asked, trying her best to keep her voice level, even as she was desperately, foolishly hoping that he might go against her expectations.

And, as she knew he would, he simply responded, "What about them?"

She adverted her gaze, that brief, foolish hope shattered, as it had been so many times before. As it would be for the last time. He didn't notice this, still focused on the crate.

Thus, they were both taken by surprise when a burning beam of energy blasted through the wall, scorching their auras and throwing them back onto the next car, this one empty and exposed to the open air.

Their auras kept their bodies from taking any real damage, but they still felt as if their bodies were burned and broken. They were long used to such, though, and they stood quickly, not intending to take another shot like that.

Out of the wreckage of the car came a bulky, four-legged mechanical beast, the cannons upon each shoulder already charged for another shot.

Another burning, unstable beam of energy shot through the air at the duo, but with warning they were able to dodge it easily enough.  
They then charged through the many smaller beams that now attempted to cut them down, the girl avoiding each, the boy simply collecting them with his blade.

With each beam he collected, the glow that infused the patterns of his clothing and mask, his hair, and his weapon shone stronger.

The much faster girl reached it first. She jumped up, her weapon once more in the shape of a sickle, tied to a long ribbon. She whipped it forward, firing the gun to further increase the massive momentum of the weapon.

Which made it even more disheartening when the blade simply skipped off the thing's armor and dug into the metal of the floor of the train.

Not to be caught off guard again, though, she pulled the blade of the floor and back into her hands as she flipped backwards to avoid yet another beam of crackling energy. It carved through the train and into the ground below in a shower of sparkling blue.

She let out a low growl, knowing that she wouldn't be able to do much damage to the beast. She looked over to the boy, who nodded at her and took a stance, grasping the hilt of his blade as the glow started to flare and grow.

She charged forward once more, making sure the beast was focused on her and not the currently vulnerable boy. Beams flew around her, each missing, if only by an inch, as she twisted, rolled, dodged, and occasionally appeared somewhere else as a shadow dissolved in her wake.

As she approached, she scanned the thing with her experienced eyes, quickly spotting a few weak points, the sensors and joints.

She mentally complemented the designers of thing thing as she leap into combat, for those weak points she had found were few and far between. She slashed into one of the sensors, then jumped up onto the body of the thing. She leaped about, constantly appearing in places she wasn't, shadows taking her place and fading behind her, slicing through a sensor or a weak point between two pieces of armor with each strike.

It stumbled about, sparks flying from several parts of its body as the girl bounced around it, the thing unable to predict her movements well enough to mount a proper counterattack.

But, of course, she couldn't win a straight brawl against it. Eventually she strayed too close to one of the four legs, and the machine didn't waste the chance.

It kicked into her with bone-crushing force, and her aura took a heavy hit as she flew back towards the boy. She lay for a moment, taking deep, wheezing breaths. Once again, she wasn't damaged, but she still felt like she'd been hit by a truck. She'd need a moment to recover.

Luckily for her, the boy was able to provide that. He stepped forward, his clothing, hair, and weapon straining madly with wavering crimson light, struggling as if it was trying to hold in something not meant to be contained.

The beast stepped forward, having used the time to charge a powerful beam that would surely cut through the boy's aura completely. It released it in a powerful stream that sparked and cracked as it made its way through the air and into the boy's sword, every moment blue met red causing his light to grow ever more bright and unstable, until it cut off, and he slammed the sword into the sheath, containing the power.

The beast looked up at the machine with a smirk, and unsheathed his sword in a broad strike, letting out an arc of aura so powerful it caused the very world around to shift color, as if it was bowing to the will of this mighty strike.

It cut through the machine easily, wilting rose petals peeling off of the bisected chunks of metal.

And, with a flourish, he sheathed the blade, allowing the world to return to the natural state of things.

And yet, it would not.

She couldn't continue with this, her conscience wouldn't allow it. And yet, she was too much a coward to confront him. She had given him one last chance, hoping he might give her some sign that what she planned wasn't necessary, that she didn't have to abandon all she knew, the one she cared for most.

And there wouldn't be a better chance than now.

She leaped to the car ahead and slashed the connection, casting off the rest of the train, and with it the boy.

He rushed forward too late, they were already too far apart.

And as the girl stood upon the car that would take her out of Forever Fall, away from the crimson leaves and wind, she looked back at the one who had trusted her most and felt a stinging in her eyes, heralding tears.

He tore off his mask as he reached out, as if he could pull her back somehow. The look of confusion, quickly replaced by realization, sorrow, and then, betrayal and rage on the boy's face was more than she could bear.

When he replaced the mask once more, hiding both the brand and his brilliant blue eye, it was almost worse.

He who trusted her with the secret of what lay under his mask, who had talked with her long into the dark when nightmares of the past and future kept them both awake, who she had seen fall, further and further, into punishing those who had taken so much from them, now surely hated her.

The burning pain in her chest where she had been struck was all she deserved. For for what she had done alongside him, for leaving him now, for not stopping him from going down this path.

And as he faded into the distance, she did not allow any of the tears to escape, for she did not deserve them. Instead, she only called out to the rapidly receding figure, much too far now to hear her soft words.

"I'm sorry, Adam."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my old notes, “Also, yes, faunus don’t have night vision in this fic. Honestly, I don’t know why Rooster Teeth included the fact they have night vision when it has never once been used as far as I can remember. I had no plans to utilize it myself, and indeed some scenes work better without it, so I got rid of it.”


	4. Heat and Irritants

A chill wind blew through the darkened streets of Vale, making the few shady figures still about at this hour pull whatever coats or jackets they had tighter to ward off the cold.

All but one very obvious girl with long blonde hair. She drew quite a lot of attention, striding confidently forward with her shining hair and clothes more suited to a hot Vacuo day than a chilly autumn night in Vale.

All who passed her figured she was one of two things. An idiot, or a huntress-in-training. None dared impede her, for the potential risks of waylaying a huntress, even a young one in training, far outweighed the meager profits one might expect if the former was true.

So, the smirking girl strode through the streets of Vale unmolested, her destination firmly in mind.

As she made her way deeper into the poorer districts of Vale, the amount of dark figures lurking about increased, as did the amount of beggars and homeless sleeping on various benches and sidewalks. Eventually, she found her destination in a dark alley between two long-abandoned homes that didn’t seem any different from any other alley, to the unaware eye.

She stood, one hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently as she stared down the dead-end alley.

Not a minute later, a door connected to the rightmost building opened, and a figure of average height and thin build walked out. Long, stringy black hair framed a sharp-featured face with midnight blue eyes. His thinness, bordering on malnutrition, his uncared-for hair, and the ragged brown clothes he wore gave the impression of a harmless beggar. This illusion was broken only by the way he regarded the world with those midnight eyes, shrewd and calculating.

He did not glance furtively around, as some less experienced practitioners of his occupation might, nor did he waste time with threats or let himself be distracted by the girl’s pretty face or cleavage.

“You have my pay?” his sharp voice pierced through the night easily, his calculating gaze fixed on the girl’s amused one.

“Yeah,” she replied simply, pulling out a simple white envelope. “You have what I asked for?”

“Of course,” he replied shortly, removing a simple folder from the torn brown jacket he wore.

He reached for the envelope the girl held, but she pulled it away from his hand with a tsk, before saying in a playful tone, “Oh, not before you give me what I want. Wouldn’t want you ripping me off, eh?”

If the man had an ounce less self-control than he did, he might have rolled his eyes. As if he would risk his reputation just to get a bit of money off a teenage huntress. Did she think she was in a spy movie?

Instead he simply held out the folder, which the girl grabbed and started flipping through, quickly scanning over the few papers held within.

“You may read on your own time. The money, if you would,” the man said, for he was eager to get out of the rags he wore.

The huntress-in-training ignored him, finishing her scan of the information provided, before looking back up at the man, her eyes suddenly burning red and her expression one of irritation.

“This is all shit I already knew! Beacon, married Taiyang Xiao Long, gave birth, and ran off somewhere.”

The temperature in the alley started to raise itself unnaturally, the girl almost seeming to radiate heat.

The man inwardly sighed, as externally his voice cracked out once more, “I am not responsible for what you may or may not know. You hired me to find information on this person, and I found everything my contacts could give me. The woman seemingly came out of nowhere and disappeared right back into it. Now, my payment.”

The girl threw the folder he had given her to the ground and stomped down on it before grabbing the man by his collar and holding him up in the air, a fist poised to pound into him.

“I’m not paying for shit I already know! And you’ve gotta be holding something back, you’re supposed to know shit. And if I have to beat it outta you, so be it!”

He met her violent red eyes with his own calm blue, ignoring the way her hand was burning his skin. This was troublesome. Behind his back, he held up three fingers in a signal before letting them fall.

“I told you, I am not responsible for what you know. And why would I hold back information?” his voice was just as dispassionately sharp as ever, a heavy contrast to the girl’s angered tone.

She opened her mouth once more, but he spoke before she could get a word out, “Now, I would suggest you give me my payment and leave. Immediately.”

“Or what?” she sneered at the suspended man.

A bat to the back of the head was her answer. Yellow aura flashed in the darkness of the alley, preventing her from being knocked unconscious, but the hit still caused her to stumble and drop the man, who landed neatly on his feet before backing up several steps.

The guard he had employed for just these sorts of situations swung again, but the girl’s bracelets extended into full metal gauntlets and she caught the wooden bat on one of them.

Her other fist lashed out in a wild blow, which the guard managed to sidestep. She then threw a flurry of quick jabs, not yet bothering to use her weapons. The guard, somewhat experienced in such brawls, managed to block and dodge many, but some broke through his amateur guard and impacted his chest, jaw, and head. The quickly forming bruises and lack of shining aura proved his soul was dormant, further putting the fight in the girls favor. Each bruise was accompanied by a light burn on his skin.

His lack of aura was something she took full advantage of when she got tired of the man’s blocking. She cocked her fist back throw an extremely powerful, and extremely easy to block, hit. The man’s bat intercepted the blow, as she expected. The cheap wooden thing, not reinforced by aura or metal, broke under the impact of the soul-infused blow, shattering into splinters that bounced off the girl’s aura but impacted painfully on the guard’s exposed skin.

He looked down at the handle he still held in his hand in shock. He looked back up just in time to take an aura-infused blow to the nose, which broke it with a loud crack and sent him to his back on the pavement.

The girl swung around angrily, looking for the man with the midnight eyes, but he was nowhere to be found. Figuring there was only one place he could have gone in the dead-end alley, she dashed to the door he had come through in the first place and burst through it, the deadbolt completely insufficient to stop an angered huntress.

The inside of the building was just as seemingly abandoned as the outside, but she wasn’t fooled. She had few positive opinions of the man she had hired, but at the very least she knew he was thorough.

Knowing he wouldn’t have stayed here, she tore through the building with aura-enhanced speed, bursting through the flimsy walls as easily as she went through the door and quickly finding a door in the back of the house, which she burst through as well to find herself in a backstreet.

Seeing the man running around a corner, she smirked. He couldn’t outrun a huntress.

She rushed after him blindly, rounding the corner and meeting a bullet to the forehead. More followed, and despite her now pounding headache she managed to dodge them. Her red eyes burned into the man holding the pistol. He aimed and fired, not bothering with panic or anger.

Firing her gauntlets behind her, she sprang into the air and flew toward him with reckless speed. Guessing what was going to happen, he didn’t even try to take potshots at her and just ran to the side, which likely saved his life.

She hit the ground in a great fiery explosion that cracked the ground and caused the man to stumble back. Searing heat burned him, and his pistol flew out of his hand.

Uncovering his eyes, he saw the girl turn to him. Her long mane of golden hair was now aflame, her eyes were a deeper crimson than before, and they spoke of violence.

A semblance, the man noted with an almost resigned demeanor.He fell back into a simple fist-fighting stance, knowing that trying to run from someone who could reinforce their muscles with aura would be a fool’s attempt.

She made the first move, rushing forward to quickly jab towards his throat. He moved his head to the side just barely enough to let the buckshot miss him. She used the momentum from the shotgun blast to spin and bring a leg in for a heavy roundhouse kick. He managed to interpose his forearms between his head and her leg, though the impact made him stumble back a few steps despite his steady stance.

She followed easily, aiming a blow at his stomach before he had recovered his balance. He managed to block the blow, though it threw him more off-balance and made his already-bruised forearms ache. He winced at the soul-empowered strike, though he was silently glad she had chosen not to fire off the shotguns in her gauntlet this time.

Several more strikes were aimed at the auraless man, all blocked just in the nick of time while he was kept off-balance. Each blow forced a low grunt from him.

The girl finally ended the uneven battle by dropping down and sweeping the man’s legs. He fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

He sighed and didn’t bother trying to get up. She could’ve triggered those gauntlets of hers at any time and killed him, so he didn’t think that was what she was after. Even if it was, not like he could do much about it.

Waves of heat poured from the huntress as she glared down at him, her gauntlets still primed.

Sitting up, he ignored her and inspected his injuries. He was used to bruises, the burns would be a bitch though. Still, perhaps he could make use of this.

The man reached into his jacket, at which the huntress again prepared to pound him, but he only took out a cigarette.

He then proceeded to hold it against her leg, lighting it with the heat of her aura. She stared incredulously as he took a drag and then let himself fall back onto the asphalt.

Then the girl burst out laughing and retracted her gauntlets, her flames disappearing. She let herself fall to the ground, sitting cross-legged next to her victim.

She rested her chin in a hand and looked at him, her eyes now the same violet they were when he first met her, “You’re not scared, eh?”

He lifted his own head and regarded her with his calculating eyes.

“Girl, in my line of work you don’t expect to live long,” he let his head fall back on the ground. “So, you gonna kill a man in cold blood cause he didn’t have your information? Or is your temper tantrum over now?”

She snorted, “Well, at least you’ve got some balls.”

The midnight-eyed man took another drag of his cigarette. He didn’t hear anything for a long moment. Then, a rustling, and something fell on his chest. He looked down to find the envelope with the money he had been promised and the girl swaggering away, her cocky persona fully returned.

He reached a hand into his pocket, fingering the switchblade there, before discarding the notion as foolish.

He slowly pulled himself up, envelope in one hand and cigarette in the other, and called out, “It goes without saying that I will not be doing any more business with you.”

A loud laugh was his only response. He shook his head and started back to the house to check on his guard.

That was the last the blonde girl ever heard of the information broker.

She continued her swaggering walk towards the shopping district of Vale, but was stopped by a sudden ringing. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the holographic scroll that was common in the Kingdoms.

“Hey, Rubes!”

…

“Just meeting with some friends, why?”

…

“No way! I’ll be there in just a minute.”

The call ended, and the girl stood there for a just a moment before letting out an excited squeal and racing off, all thoughts of looking cool or confident abandoned as she ran to meet her sister.

After all, its not every day that you get to go to Beacon alongside your little sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Thanks for reading, my friends. 
> 
> Til next time!

**Author's Note:**

> The healing thing isn't a semblance. As far as I remember, in the story everyone with an active aura had the power to heal others, but it took a whole lot of energy. More than that, it required the healer to show the other their soul, which meant exposing everything that made them who they were. You can see why many would hesitate to do that. I think I planned to have some drama with both Blake and Weiss regarding that.
> 
> Ruby, of course, is Ruby, and therefore doesn't care in the slightest and will heal pretty much anyone.


End file.
